Semta Chairman urges employers to take advantage of growth opportunities
09/03/2012 Enginuity
-Allan Cook keynote speaker at a Royal Aeronautical Society lecture-Leading industrialist Allan Cook CBE has delivered the keynote speech at the prestigious R J Mitchell Lecture hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society last night. The lecture, held at the University of Southampton, saw Mr Cook discuss the strengths of the UK's advanced aerospace manufacturing and engineering industry, as well as revealing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the sector.
Mr Cook, chairman of WS Atkins plc, chairman of SELEX Galileo and deputy chairman of Marshalls Group, is also chairman of sector skills council Semta.
During the lecture, attended by 200 employers and students, Allan Cook observed: "One of the main challenges that UK engineering and manufacturing businesses face is recruiting, retaining and developing the appropriate skills in their respective companies. Around 15-17 per cent of UK science and engineering companies are reporting skills gaps, so it's important to act now."
Semta is supporting employers in its sectors to help redress the balance and has helped identify training for more than 72,000 individual learners.
Allan Cook continued: "There is plenty of opportunity for real Engineering work to create wealth in the UK. We are doing better than Europe and the market for high value goods and services associated with Advanced Manufacturing is likely to increase significantly.
"But our current position in international markets is under threat and the responsibility for this decline resides with industry, Government and our education system. Unless we can attract and retain the best skills within our businesses we will continue to see our engineering and manufacturing base erode in the face of unprecedented challenges."
The UK engineering workforce is aging so companies need to recruit and train 82,000 engineers, scientists and technologists by 2016, and 363,000 of the technical workforce need higher level skills to achieve world class standards.
"I urge all businesses to invest in the right skills now to ensure they can make the most of opportunities for growth."
The Lecture was held on Tuesday 6 March 2012 at 7:00pm at the Turner Sims Concert Hall on the University's Highfield Campus.
For further information, please visit: www.semta.org.uk
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